Children and families service complaints and representations procedure

View the Children's and Families service complaints and representations procedure (PDF, 634 KB) as a PDF.

At Gateshead we are committed to getting things right and providing high quality services to all children, young people and families in Gateshead to support our vision for Children and young people in Gateshead to "enjoy their childhood and have the opportunity to thrive and be their best selves." 

We realise we don't always get it right, and if that happens, we want to try and fix any problems you may be experiencing. If you have a complaint about our service, we'd like you to get in touch with us first and we can try and resolve your complaint quickly and informally. 

Our Social Care Complaints Procedure is followed in line with the Department for Education and Skills statutory guidance 'Getting the Best from Complaints: Social Care Complaints and Representations for Children, Young People and Others (opens new window)' which provides guidance for local authority children's services on representations and complaints procedures. 

The complaints that we receive are important to help us improve and develop services. One of the ways in which we continue to improve our services is by listening to the views of our children, young people and families and by responding positively to representations and complaints, putting any mistakes right at the earliest opportunity. 

Representations may not always be complaints; they could also be positive remarks or ideas for example. enquiries or comments about the availability, delivery or nature of a service can be representations. 

Children and young people can put forward ideas or proposals about the service they receive, or the establishment they live in, without having this framed as a complaint, and Gateshead Council will record and respond accordingly. 

In line with statutory guidance, we consider a complaint to be 'an expression of dissatisfaction or disquiet in relation to an individual child or young person, which requires a response'.

Children and young people often express complaints as 'problems not being sorted out'.

Complaints of a general nature which are not concerned with an individual case are likely to fall outside the statutory definition, as are anonymous complaints.

We have a separate procedure for complaints that fall outside of the statutory definition.

A statutory complaint may arise because of many things relating to Children's Social Care services and functions including: 

• An unwelcome or disputed decision 
• Concern about the quality or appropriateness of a service 
• Delay in decision making or provision of services 
• Delivery or non-delivery of services including complaints procedures 
• Quantity, frequency, change or cost of a service 
• Attitude or behaviour of staff 
• Application of eligibility and assessment criteria 
• The impact on a child or young person of the application of a local authority policy 
• Assessment, care management and review 

The above is not an exhaustive list. Some functions relating to care and supervision orders, adoption services and special guardian support services may also be subject to a complaint. 

This procedure does not apply when: 

• the person wishing to complain does not meet the requirements of "Who can make a complaint?" and is not acting on behalf of such an individual. 
• the complaint is not concerning the actions or decisions of Gateshead Council, or of a body acting on its behalf. 
• the same complaint has already been dealt with at all stages of the procedure. 

When the consideration of a complaint would prejudice concurrent investigations such as court proceedings, tribunals, disciplinary proceedings, or criminal proceedings (once a concurrent investigation concludes, the complainant may resubmit their complaint providing it is within one year of the conclusion of the concurrent investigation). The Complaints Manager alongside a Senior Children's Services manager will have the discretion in deciding whether to consider the complaints. 

If the Complaints Manager decides not to consider, or further consider, complaints subject to these investigations, then they will write to you explaining the reason for their decision.

We will consider complaints from: 

• Any child or young person (or a parent/someone who has parental responsibility) who is being cared for by Gateshead Council or is not cared for by the Local Authority but is in need. 
• Any Gateshead Council foster carer (including those caring for children placed through independent fostering agencies). 
• Children leaving care. 
• Special guardians. 
• A child or young person (or parent of the child/young person) to whom a Special Guardian order is in force. 
• Any person who has applied for an assessment for special guardianship support services. 
• Any child or young person who may be adopted, their parents and guardians. 
• Persons wishing to adopt a child. 
• Any other person whom arrangements for the provision of adoption services extend. 
• Adopted persons, their parents, natural parents, and former guardians. 
• Such other person who has sufficient interest in the child or young person's welfare to warrant their representations being considered by them. 
• Gateshead Council Supported Lodgings Hosts 

Complaints made on behalf of a child or young person 

If a complaint is made by someone acting on behalf of a child or young person, we will, where possible, check that the child or young person is happy for the complaint to be made and that it reflects their views. 

If a complaint is made by an adult about a child or young person, but not directly on their behalf, the Complaints Team will consider whether the person has sufficient interest in the child's welfare to justify the complaint being accepted.

We may also check with the child or young person to confirm they are comfortable with the person raising the concern. 

Anonymous Complaints 

Anonymous complaints are not covered by the formal complaints procedure. However, they will be reviewed by the Complaints Manager, who will decide whether any action should be taken and whether the issue should be addressed through another process, such as safeguarding or service review. 

We treat all complaints with sensitivity and in line with data protection and confidentiality requirements. Our priority is to ensure that the views and best interests of children and young people are respected throughout the process. 

Complaints must be made within 12 months of the matter being complained about occurring.

This is to assist Gateshead Council in dealing with current complaints rather than historic matters.

Complaints received after 12 months of the matter arising will be considered on a case-by-case basis by the Complaints Manager where there are possible grounds (in line with statutory guidance) for accepting the complaint after one year.

While making a complaint, we will support children and young people by actively providing information and advice and offering advocacy services.

The Complaints Manager will ensure that a suitable person meets with the child or young person to discuss the complaints process and ensure any questions or concerns are fully responded to.

Although there is no requirement on us to provide an advocacy service in respect of adults under this procedure, we will consider how to meet the varying needs of adults particularly in relation to those whose first language is not English and those with communication difficulties.

We aim to make it easy for you to share your concerns and ensure they're dealt with promptly and fairly. 

Most complaints are received electronically and we'll acknowledge them within 2 working days. In our response, we'll let you know how we plan to proceed or direct you to the right part of the service if someone else is better placed to help. 

What happens next 

The manager of the service you've raised concerns about will contact you within 3 working days to offer mediation and try to resolve the issue informally. We'll follow up with a written response within 5 working days. 

We always aim to resolve issues quickly and informally where possible. If that's not achievable, the Complaints Manager will decide whether your concerns need to be investigated further through the formal complaints procedure. (see Appendix A, a flowchart of Gateshead Children Social Care complaint investigation process and Appendix B, a flowchart of Children's Act 1989 customer feedback). 

Our complaints process

We aim to resolve complaints quickly, fairly, and proportionately. If your concern cannot be resolved informally, you can request a formal investigation. We recommend doing this within 10 working days of receiving your initial response.

In most cases, complaints begin at Stage 1. We'll guide you through each stage and keep you informed throughout the process. Where appropriate, and with your agreement, we may offer conciliation, mediation, or other support services to help resolve the issue. 

There are three stages in our complaints procedure: 

Stage 1 - local resolution 

Your complaint is reviewed by the relevant service manager, who will aim to resolve the issue directly with you. 

Stage 2 - formal investigation 

If you're not satisfied with the Stage 1 response, a more detailed investigation will be carried out by an Investigating Officer, supported by an Independent Person. 

Stage 3 - review panel 

If you're still unhappy with the outcome at Stage 2, you can request a Review Panel to consider the complaint further. 

How we handle your complaint:

Stage 1 - local resolution

When you make a complaint, it will be reviewed by a member of our Complaints Team along with the manager responsible for the service involved. In some cases, an Independent Reviewing Officer may also be involved. 

The manager will gather and review relevant information, which may include speaking with staff and reviewing case records. As part of this process, we may ask if you'd be open to meeting with staff to help resolve the issue informally and as quickly as possible. 

We aim to resolve Stage 1 complaints within 20 working days. However, in some cases, we may need more time, for example, if the complaint involves a complex history, if an advocate needs to be appointed, or if key staff are unavailable due to sickness or leave. If this happens, we'll keep you informed and let you know the revised timescale we're working to. 

Escalation from a stage 1 to a stage 2:

You can request a review of your complaint at Stage 2. However, to do so you must be able to explain the reasons for wanting to proceed to Stage 2. Simply stating dissatisfaction with the response received or exercising your right to escalate to the next stage is not sufficient basis for a Stage 2 investigation. 

Stage 2 - investigation:

A Stage 2 complaint investigating officer (IO) must possess a higher level of seniority, experience, or demonstrable independence than the officer who managed the Stage 1 complaint, who is typically a Team Manager or equivalent.

The purpose of Stage 2 is to ensure a comprehensive, impartial, and objective review of the issues and dissatisfaction raised by the complainant. The investigating officer should ordinarily be independent of the service area or department subject to the complaint and should be a senior officer, senior manager, or, where appropriate, an external investigator.

A Stage 2 investigation looks at your complaint and the response at Stage 1 and what it is that you continue to remain unhappy about. A stage 2 investigation will usually commence when you are

• unhappy with their complaint response or the outcome at stage 1
• dissatisfied with the way the complaint was handled
• did not receive a response within the set timescale provided

At Stage 2, the Complaints Team will arrange for a full and considered investigation of the complaint to take place. A Investigating Officer (IO) will be appointed along with an Independent Person (IP) to work alongside. The IO and IP review files, carry out interviews and ask you for supporting evidence.

The IO will ensure that the details of the complaint and your desired outcomes are recorded in writing and agreed, this is known as a Statement of Complaint. The Statement of Complaint must be agreed between you and the IO within 10 working days, failure to agree your complaint elements and desired outcomes will result in the complaint process being terminated.

Once you have agreed a Statement of Complaint the timescale for the investigation will then begin and the aim will be to provide a report within 25 working days (5 weeks). The investigation process can take up to 65 working days if, for example there are lots of parts to the complaint, if issues are complicated or further work is needed to fully look at the aspects of complaint.

Once the investigation is complete, the Investigation Officer will prepare a report that will include details of their findings, conclusions, outcomes, and recommendations. The Independent Person will also provide a report and may comment on whether the investigation has been conducted effectively and in an impartial manner, whether the IO report is an accurate picture of the investigation and the nature of the recommendations.

A Senior Manager will act as an 'Adjudicating Officer'. The Adjudicating Officer will consider the IO and IP reports and will provide a response, describing their decision on each point of complaint, generally, findings are upheld, not upheld, or partially upheld for each complaint, actions that will be taken forward will also be identified in the report. As part of the adjudication process, the Adjudication Officer may wish to meet with you to Discuss the report.

The Complaints Team will write to you to provide a copy of the reports and the adjudication. This concludes the Stage 2 process, if you're unhappy with the response (only on points that were not upheld or partially upheld) you can request a Stage 3 review panel, within 20 working days of receipt of the reports and adjudication. 

Stage 3 - review panel:

If you're still unhappy with the outcome of your Stage 2 complaint, we can discuss whether it's appropriate to move to Stage 3. You'll need to let us know within 20 working days of receiving your Stage 2 response if you'd like us to consider this.

Stage 3 Review Panels only apply to complaints about Children's Services. The Review Panel does not reinvestigate the complaint or consider new issues that weren't part of Stage 2. Its purpose is to review how the complaint was handled and, wherever possible, help reach a resolution.

If you wish to proceed to Stage 3, please contact the Complaints Manager for further guidance. If accepted, you'll be invited to attend a Review Panel meeting, where three independent people will consider your complaint. The Panel will meet within 30 working days and make recommendations to the Director of Children's Services, who will respond within 15 working days.

About stage 3 review panel

If you're not satisfied with the outcome of your Stage 2 complaint, you can request a Stage 3 Review Panel. The Complaints Manager will assess your request in line with statutory guidance. If accepted, a Panel Chair will be appointed, ideally within 10 working days, along with two independent panel members. 

What the review panel does

The panel will: 

• Listen to everyone involved 
• Review how the Stage 2 investigation was carried out 
• Gather any additional information that may help resolve the complaint 
• Make findings on each point of complaint 
• Recommend practical solutions 
• Suggest service improvements where needed 

Who attends

You will be invited to attend the panel meeting. Others who may attend include: 

• Complaints Manager 
• Administrative support 
• Independent Person (IP) and Investigating Officer (IO) from Stage 2 
• Adjudicating Officer (or another senior manager if needed) 

The panel chair will confirm the final list of attendees. 

How the panel works

The meeting will focus on the agreed complaint points and your desired outcomes. You'll be invited to speak first, followed by presentations from other attendees. Panel members will ask questions to fully understand the issues and make informed recommendations. All attendees may ask questions relevant to the complaint. 

After the panel

The panel members, the Director of Children's Services and Independent Person, will meet privately to discuss their findings and recommendations. A written report will be produced and shared with you.

This report will be sent within 5 working days of the panel meeting. Following receipt of the report, the Director of Children's Services will send a response to you within 15 days. The response will set out how Children's Services will respond to the recommendations and what action will be taken. 

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO)

If, at the end of the process you remain dissatisfied, you will be advised of your right to refer the matter to the LGSCO. You can complain to the ombudsman at any time; however, the ombudsman will usually only consider a complaint after it has been through all stages of our procedure first. The Complaints Team will work with Gateshead Council's LGSCO Link Officer to respond to LGSCO enquiries at any point during our complaints processes. 

Early referral to LGO

In some situations, the Complaints Manager may decide that moving to Stage 3 of the complaints process (a review panel) is unlikely to change the outcome of the Stage 2 investigation. If all significant parts of the complaint have been upheld or partially upheld, and the council has agreed to meet the outcomes you were seeking, a Review Panel may not be necessary. 

In these cases, the Complaints Manager will discuss this with you and may suggest referring the matter directly to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) instead of progressing to Stage 3. 

This option is only considered once Stage 2 has been fully completed and where it is clear that further review would not lead to a different result. The decision will always be made in consultation with you and based on what is fair, proportionate, and in line with statutory guidance. 

Withdrawing a complaint

You can withdraw your complaint at any time, either verbally or in writing. Once we receive your request, we will confirm the withdrawal in writing. 

Even if a complaint is withdrawn, the relevant service may still review the issue internally. 

This helps ensure that any concerns raised are properly considered and addressed, where appropriate, through our internal management processes. 

We treat all complaints confidentially and in line with data protection legislation. Any personal information shared as part of the complaint will only be used for that purpose and handled securely. 

Deferring decisions

In some cases, the Complaints Manager may need to pause or defer a decision while a complaint is being considered. This is particularly relevant when the complaint relates to a proposed change to a care plan, placement, or service. Deferring a decision helps ensure that no action is taken that could negatively affect the child or young person before the complaint is properly reviewed. 

Decisions to defer are made on a case-by-case basis, following detailed discussions with the relevant service manager and a careful assessment of any risks involved. 

Under the statutory children's social care complaints procedure, councils are expected to consider whether investigating a complaint could interfere with other ongoing processes, such as court proceedings. If there is a risk of prejudice, the council may choose to pause the complaint investigation.

However, complainants have the right to resubmit their complaint once those proceedings have concluded, and councils must clearly explain their reasons for any decision to defer or suspend an investigation. 

This approach ensures that complaints are handled fairly, transparently, and with the best interests of the child or young person at the centre of decision-making. 

Relationships with other procedures

The Complaints Manager will consider how other procedures could have a bearing on a complaint. These might include: 

• child protection procedures. 
• court proceedings; 
• grievance procedures; and 
• disciplinary procedures 
• Corporate Complaint Procedures 

The manager will separate out complaints appropriate to other procedures and those that may require joint action. In considering a complaint which is subject to a concurrent investigation under one of these procedures, the manager will consider if the complaint may compromise or prejudice the other investigation (in line with statutory guidance).  

We're committed to providing high-quality services, but sometimes things don't go as planned. When that happens, we'll take action to: 

• Accept responsibility 
• Explain what went wrong and why 
• Make the necessary changes to put things right 
• Keep you informed about what we're doing and when it will be completed 

Our response to a complaint may include a combination of remedies, such as an explanation and a sincere apology. Our aim is to restore things as closely as possible to how they would have been if the issue hadn't occurred. Remedies are always fair and proportionate to the situation and any impact caused. 

We'll consider your views and what outcome you're hoping for. We also take into account any delays or actions on your part that may have affected the situation. 

In some cases, a financial remedy may be offered, but this is usually symbolic rather than substantial. If you're seeking compensation from the outset, we may refer the matter to our Risk and Insurance Team or suggest you seek independent legal advice. Financial remedies are only considered when an investigation finds fault and there's been a clear loss or hardship. We follow national guidance from the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman to ensure fairness and consistency. 

We also have a Corporate complaints and compliments policy to address serious service failures. While this policy aims to offer fair outcomes, it doesn't provide compensation like a court might. We'll always explain our decisions clearly and include them in our response to you. 

We take your privacy and the handling of your personal information seriously. When you make a complaint about children's social care, we keep a secure record of:

• the details of your complaint
• the outcome
• any actions taken
• whether we met the required timescales

All complaints are managed in line with the The Children Act 1989 Representations Procedure (England) Regulations 2006 (opens new window), and we follow statutory guidance issued by the Department for Education and the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. 

We comply with the UK's data protection legislation (opens new window) and the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (opens new window).

This means: 

• personal information shared as part of a complaint is only used for that purpose
• information is stored securely and only accessed by those involved in handling the complaint
• records are retained and disposed of in line with national guidance from the public. 

Record office and local authority policies

If your complaint involves sensitive information or relates to another organisation, we will ensure that any sharing of data is done lawfully, with your consent where required, and with full consideration of confidentiality and safeguarding responsibilities.

We're committed to treating all complaints fairly and providing a high-quality service to everyone. Most people who contact us do so respectfully and reasonably. However, in rare cases, a person's behaviour or repeated complaints can make it difficult for us to respond effectively, both to them and to others. 

If someone continues to pursue a complaint that has no reasonable basis, or if we've already taken appropriate action and explained our decision, we may decide to close the matter. This is in line with

Gateshead Council's Corporate Complaints Policy. 

We also have a duty to protect our staff. We will not tolerate behaviour that is abusive, offensive, or threatening, and we will take appropriate action to ensure staff safety. 

Examples of what might be considered unreasonable or persistent behaviour: 

• Repeatedly making the same complaint, even after a full response has been given. 
• Refusing to accept a reasonable outcome. 
• Seeking unrealistic outcomes. 
• Contacting the council through multiple channels about the same issue. 
• Changing the nature of the complaint during the investigation. 
• Behaving aggressively or abusively towards staff. 

What action might we take? 

If we decide that someone's behaviour is unreasonable or persistent, we will first issue a warning. If the behaviour continues, we may take steps such as: 

• asking for contact in a specific format (for example, letters only) 
• assigning a named officer as the single point of contact
• limiting phone calls to certain days or times
• asking the customer to agree to a contact plan
• informing the customer that further correspondence may not be acknowledged unless it raises new issues. 

If behaviour continues to be unacceptable, we may limit how the person can contact us, for example, by restricting communication to a single point of contact. In extreme cases, where behaviour threatens staff safety or wellbeing, we may end contact with the customer or stop investigating the complaint. This could include reporting the matter to the police or taking legal action. In such cases, prior warning may not be given. 

We will always be clear and transparent about any decisions we make, and these will be recorded and included in our response. 

We understand that dealing with complaints can sometimes be challenging, and we make sure our staff are supported throughout the process. 

Staff who are named in a complaint or asked to provide information during an investigation will receive support through their line manager. If a member of staff is interviewed as part of the investigation, they may choose to have a support person present.

Once the council has dealt with the complaint, the complainant may refer it to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) and ask for it to be reviewed.

The LGSCO provides a free and independent service. Complaints may be registered with the LGSCO using their complaint form or by phone or post. 

The contact details for LGSCO are: 

Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman - how to complain (opens new window)

0300 061 0614 
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman
PO Box 4771
Coventry
CV4 0EH 

The LGSCO will not normally investigate a complaint until the council, or the provider has had an opportunity to respond and resolve matters.

Listening to your experiences helps us spot problems early and make things better. We're committed to learning from complaints and using them to improve the way we work.

Our Complaints Team regularly shares trends and key issues with senior managers and service leads. This helps ensure that learning from complaints is passed on to frontline teams and used to shape better services. We also share performance data and feedback to support staff development and improve how we communicate with residents.

Each year, we publish a report that goes to Gateshead Council's Cabinet, Senior Leadership Team, and scrutiny committees. This report outlines the work of the Complaints Team, any changes to the complaints process, and how well the system is working.

We value your feedback and use it to improve our services

You might want to compliment someone who has helped you, suggest ways we could do things better or make a complaint. We want to make sure that the care services we provide are always of a high quality. However sometimes things can go wrong. If this happens, we would like to hear from you.

We will use compliments, comments and complaints to find out what is and is not working well, whether any of our processes need to be reviewed and to help us plan the way in which services could be delivered in future.

Tell us your views about children's services 

You may want to report concerns, provide feedback, ideas or comments about the care or service you have received or you are receiving.

If you do then it's best to first speak with a member of staff involved in your care or service.

If you find that staff are unable to help you, or you are not comfortable speaking with them, contact the Customer Feedback Team.

If you find that your concerns or problems have not been resolved, you may wish to make a formal complaint.

If we are unable to resolve the matters you may wish to escalate to stage 2 within the next 20 days.

If we are unable to resolve the matters you may wish to escalate to stage 3 within the next 20 working days.

If you are still unhappy you can refer you complaint to Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.

The Children Act 1989 Representations Procedure (England) Regulations 2006 (opens new window)

If not resolved - or if there is agreement for investigation.

If not resolved.

If not resolved.